Its Me And My Life....: I can’t get the image of her out of my head...!!

I can’t get the image of her out of my head!!

Franshela Vaz a third standard child- barely an eight year old girl - went missing on Monday 29th June 2015 evening from her society premises just after her school bus dropped her in the evening. Her mother Sarli Vaz had been through a surgery. So those days she wasn’t able to collect her daughter from the bus stop. However as there were other four students from the same society who also study in the same school and travel by the same bus, so it was never difficult for the little Franshela to come home once she was dropped at the society gate.

But that ill-fated day, when she didn’t come around 6.30 pm, she called up the Bus driver and discovers that she was already dropped. She smelled something foul and immediately started a frantic search around the society followed by a FIR after few hours. As she was from the same school where my son also studies, so all my WhatsAap group was flooded with messages “fake and real” about every update about the incident.

It was really a horrible time going through messages with pounding heart beats expecting a good news that “she got back to her mother’s lap”.

But did it ever happen….

The police, the school administration, the family members, the crime branch and some other parents did a wild search for her taking every minute detail into account. Prayers and wishes were all through this search like that of crazy rain that flooded Mumbai few days back... Honestly I even checked up my whatsaap message at every single beep of message alert at any point of time even in the mid of the night …expecting something good.

But all our prayers fall short…I guess or the heavy rains cruelly washed them away... The Good God was not so kind that day perhaps...

On Friday, 3rd July, 2015 (aftyer 5 days of her gone missing) her semi decomposed body was discovered followed by the arrest of her maternal Uncle Clerence Fonseca who had actually kidnapped and killed her.

Suddenly the heart felt a serious hollow. Shaken to the core… it was so hard to digest the reality. It was purely a revenge killing. As per the report, Franshela Vaz was very fond of Uncle Clarence Fonseca, who is the husband of her mother’s sister. She would often visit his Mira Road residence and spend time with his children. Sarli Vaz and Sophia Fonseca are sisters. The Few months back while The Vazs were at Fonseca’s place for a family get-together; there was a fight among children over toys. Soon parents got involved in it. Sarli(Mother of Franshela) had a serious argument and exchange of heated words with Clerence that had “sowed the seed of revenge” in him.

That wretched day, when Frenshela was supposed to enter her wing, Uncle Clerence called her up and said her mother was at their place (Mira Road) and he was there to pick her up.

Little Frenshela was no way aware that the death angel had already entered into his Uncle’s body waiting to make her body lifeless. She happily boarded the silver i20 car with brute Uncle at the wheel. After driving for an hour, he chose a lonely place on Gorbandor road (Thane) only to throttle her using polythene bag and then throw her inert body near a nullah. After that while the search operation was going on, he was all there to sympathize her mother.

Anyway, he could not dodge the relentless search operation of Police. Finally he was caught by a CCTV capture in the Airoli Bridge (Little Franshela was sitting in the front seat with Uncle Fonseca at the wheel) and the cell phone location that proved that he was around the society at that time when little Franshela went missing…neurotic day.

I know, it is not a first incident of its kind. But we human have an amazing feeling system. Till our own relatives or surrounding is not subjected to a heartless incident, we don’t’ feel the seriousness of the reality and pain. I was almost broken. Not me only…in fact it had sent a shock wave in the Navi Mumbai itself.

This incident again raised the question how safe our children are. According to a report, the most dangerous crime faced by children is from their known and own people only. Most of the time, it is the people who are known to the children win their confidence easily making them vulnerable to be subjected to heinous crimes. As a mother, I really wander how to save my child from such known perpetrators and invisible beasts. Amidst the funeral meet and candle March as a disturbed mother I’m really vexed and bothered how to teach my son that other than his mom and dad, none can be trusted in this world!!!

Franshela With Her Brute Uncle (CCTV capture image)

The CCTV captured image of Franshela (which are also her last picture before Destiny took her) with her Monster Uncle are something still alive in my head. I just can’t get that image out of my mind...

Whenever I see a child with an adult, that particular image becomes active and afresh and makes me suspicion. My heart starts pounding thinking…if the child is with the safe person or not. Most of the time they are with their parents, but looking at them I start doubting. Sometime it makes me feel like asking them…is he/she your parent…who knows another Franshela is not with another predator…
Because I just can’t get that particular image out of my mind…I guess!!!